Chiropractors and other practitioners of the healing arts have for many years utilized various forms of tables upon which patients may lie at the time certain manipulative treatments are to be administered by the doctor. Some of these tables have utilized a movable cushioned headrest portion designed exclusively for upper-cervical treatment, with adjustments and movements of these headrests being in such an appropriate manner as to aid the chiropractor in the administration of such manipulative treatments.
Adjustment procedures of this type originated at Palmer College of Chiropractic, 1000 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa 52803 and these have been used extensively as the main procedure for alleviating major subluxations of the human spine. However, quite unfortunately, many patients in the past have experienced discomfort and pain resulting from the administration of this upper-cervical type of chiropractic treatment.
A number of persons, including several patentees, have developed a variety of cervical side-posture tables in an effort to provide the Doctor of Chiropractic a means for correcting subluxations in the upper region of the human cervical spine. When such movable headrest portion of the table is at precisely an optimum relationship and position with regard to a given patient's head and neck configuration, the chances of the upper cervical vertebra properly receiving the doctor's carefully controlled and properly directed adjusting thrust or force are greatly enhanced. However, for a variety of reasons, such prior art tables have not been nearly as successful as had been hoped.
Major factors contributing to the adverse responses involve the close physical relationship of the atlas vertebra to important neurological structures where this vertebra articulates with the underside of the cranium floor, and the importance of this area of the spline in determining and controlling the proper position of the remaining vertebra and in the prevention of the distortion of the spine with such conditions as scoliosis and kyphosis cannot be overestimated. Therefore, the finite position of the atlas vertebra is very sensitively associated with the patient's total feelings and symptoms. Even when a subluxation and/or fixation exist at other points outside of the upper-cervical spine area, a concomitant subluxation of the atlas vertebra also seem to almost always exist, as if adhering to a general rule.
Most of the prior art chiropractic tables have exhibited at least some recognition of a basic problem the chiropractor confronts when applying specifically directed thrusts, for these thrusts result in a tendency of the cranium to rock, tilt or otherwise move at precisely the wrong time during the adjustive treatment. This relatively uncontrolled condition of the cranium is quite undesirable, and almost invariably leads to an unstisfactory response or adverse reaction, or considerable discomfort if not pain. It is to overcome shortcomings on the part of prior art devices insofar as properly immobilizing the head that have resulted in our designing an entirely new immobilization arrangement that is quite effective and entirely painless.
Another problem involved with the use of prior art devices has been the considerable amount of time and effort that the chiropractor must expend in positioning the headrest to the proper attitude preparatory to the adjustment procedure, both initially and on return visits. Even with the practice of the present invention there will be a great need for the chiropractor to carefully move the headrest to an optimum position, both from the height as well as the tilt standpoints, at the time of any patient's visit. To this end, we have provided a highly effective control arrangement involving push buttons, selected ones of which the chiropractor need only depress in an appropriate manner in order to bring about needed fine grain movements of the headrest in both height and tilt.
Still another shortcoming of prior art devices has been the fact that in utilizing ordinary procedures, it has not always been conveniently and expeditiously possible for the chiropractor to position the adjustable headrest for a given patient in the same precise position it was in during that patient's previous visit or visits. Considerable time was typically utilized in initially finding the optimum position for the headrest, and usually a similar amount of time is spent in the same endeavor on that patient's return visit, and as a result, many doctors are dissuaded from putting forth sufficient headrest positioning efforts on behalf of each and every patient.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a very precise and accurate control arrangement for positioning the movable headrest of a chiropractic table, such that upon the chiropractor achieving a proper headrest position from both the height and tilt standpoints for a given patient, these positions can be ascertained electronically and thereafter automatically and accurately returned to at the time of each return visit by that patient, with such able to be accomplished by the expenditure of minimal efforts by the chiropractor.